Where did the marathon come from?
The traditional origin of the marathon comes from the story how a herald named Phidippides ran the 26 miles from Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory and died on the spot.
In the 5th century B.C., the Persians invaded Greece, landing at Marathon, a small town about 26 miles from the city of Athens. Phidippides was sent by the Athenians to Sparta to ask for help; a man named Eukles announced the victory to the Athenians and then died.
Later sources confused the story of Phidippides with that of Eukles. Although most ancient authors do not support this legend, the story has persisted and is the basis for the modern-day marathon.
The modern Olympic marathon is approximately 26 miles and usually takes over 2 hours for athletes to finish.
相关文章
- The history of Winter Olympics(通讯员稿)
- Inside the 'Water Cube'(通讯员稿)
- The Most Money Paid for the US Broadcast Rights in the History of Olympics
- The story about Milo of Kroton—a famous ancient athlete
- In the early 1930s, Bergmann was one of Germany's top female track and field athletes. She seemed p
- The tragedy of the Munich Games
- Bidding for the Olympic Games
- The history of basketball,table tennis and badminton
- Tradition of the Olympic Truce
- The first modern Olympic Games